The weather outside was frightful last night. Ice, snow, and a sub-zero windchill would have made a polar bear feel chilly.

But Central Connecticut might have preferred it to the pain the Harvard women's basketball team was inflicting inside Briggs Cage.

The Crimson crushed Central Connecticut, 93-73.

"We were much better than them," Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "In every aspect of the game we were superior."

No ifs, ands or buts there. A simple statement. A truthful analysis.

This one was over early. Ronnie-Reagan-bedtime early. Harvard jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first four minutes of the game. In that time it threw down three trifectas: Junior guards Kelly Morrison and Cara Frey connected from international waters on back-to-back possessions.

"Our early start was key to our success," Co-Captain Erin Maher said. "We thought they would have a good team, so we needed to come out strong."

The quick start set the tone for the Crimson in the first half. The three point shot became Harvard's best friend.

Leading the way was Frey--who drilled three threes and went into the half with 11 points.

As a team, Harvard nailed six of nine treys for an amazing .667 shooting percentage.

In addition to the great shooting, the Crimson's passing was sharp. Throughout the first half, Harvard displayed interior passing that resembled the '86 Celtics--the NBA's greatest passing team ever.

All this added up to a Harvard halftime lead of 47-28.

Almost everyone in the building thought this one was over, and it was. But, someone must have forgotten to tell Harvard.

Cambridge's finest came bursting out of the half with a 22-8 run, giving them a 69-36 lead.

The first six minutes became "Maher time."

She had been quiet in the first half, hitting only one shot (a three, natch) and more importantly, taking only three.

"My shots weren't there in the first half," Maher said. "We were up by 20, so I didn't need to shoot much."

Apparantly, she felt the need in the second.

Maher promptly led the half off with a trey. Two possessions later she made a beautiful baseline entry pass to senior center Debbie Flandermeyer for an easy two.

Then came the shot of the night. Already up 60-32, Maher decided to have a little fun.

She got the ball a good five feet beyond the line (three point line, that is, if you haven't been paying attention). She thought about dribbling by her defender, but that would have been too easy. Instead, Maher let it fly...

Nothing but net.

Beside Maher's about-face, sophomore for ward Tammy Butler provided strong rebounding during Harvard's run. In the first six minutes, she tore down eight boards, giving her 17 for the game.

Of course, not everything went perfectly for the Crimson.

After the impressive second half run, Central Connecticut actually outscored Harvard--by a lot. Harvard's final margin of victory was only one more than the halftime difference.

"Our defense broken down in the second half," Maher said. "We should not have allowed 73 points We need to work on our transition defense and our communication defense."

True. Central Connecticut did have a lot of easy second half layups. But, it's hard to play swarming defense when you're already up by thirtysomething points.

Coach Delaney Smith said that the team wanted to improve its non-conference record this year. Defensive breakdowns or no defensive breakdowns, Harvard moved one step closer to achieving this goal last night.

HARVARD, 93-73 at Briggs Cage Cent. Conn.  28  45  --  73 Harvard  47  46  --  93

CENTRAL CONNECTICUT: Prindiville 1-2-4, Bubniak 3-4-12, Smith 0-0-0, Kuhn 1-1-3, Kartsas 5-1-11, Ewine 0-1-1, Van Cott 7-6-20, Martine 1-2-12, Claffey 0-0-0, Hartman 1-2-4, Ervin 0-0-0, Rodriguez 2-2-6.

HARVARD: Butler 5-5-15, Reinhard 0-1-1, Cronk 2-0-5, Phillips 1-0-1, Morrison 5-0-13, Proudfit 1-0-2, Maher 4-0-11, Frey 5-2-16, Criser -0-2, McNamer 2-2-6, Flandermeyer 7-2-16, Gettleman 2-0-4.

3PT SHOTS: Central Connecticut--Bubniak 2. Harvard--Frey 4, Mahere 3, Morrison 3, Cronk 1.